RPG News - PC Sales on the Rebound

April 26th, 2007, 16:14

Originally Posted by bjon045
Casual online games are expected to sell over $800 million this year. PC gaming isn't dying, it's booming.

So games like Tetris and Bejeweled are prospering? Yippee. I'm sure that all of the grandmas and bored housewives are thrilled about that. The rest of us who want to play good games fit for this century that aren't MMO's are still shit out of luck. And like I said previously, the days of MMO exclusivity on PC's are numbered. If you don't believe me, then look at the state of the first person shooter. If you had told people five years ago that the FPS genre would soon be reduced to one decent release every other year, they would have told you that you were crazy. But that's exactly where the genre is now.

If this is even anywhere near accurate what it tells us is that PC gaming may not come close to the sales of console gaming, and it may be declining in sales, but it's nowhere near dead. Nobody is going to suddenly stop a business that is bringing in over $900 million a year.

Originally Posted by doctor_kaz
So games like Tetris and Bejeweled are prospering? Yippee. I'm sure that all of the grandmas and bored housewives are thrilled about that. The rest of us who want to play good games fit for this century that aren't MMO's are still shit out of luck. And like I said previously, the days of MMO exclusivity on PC's are numbered. If you don't believe me, then look at the state of the first person shooter. If you had told people five years ago that the FPS genre would soon be reduced to one decent release every other year, they would have told you that you were crazy. But that's exactly where the genre is now.

Watch with the gramma aspersions There's a crazy lady around here with a pitchfork of doom that could make things ugly

Seriously, the more people being introduced to pc gaming, whether they are lowly females or kids or even the dreaded 'casual gamers' , can only improve the chances of developers and publishers remaining in the platform. Gaming is addictive-hopefully in a good way—and someone could easily start with Tetris, move to Puzzle Quest and be playing Baldur's Gate in a few months, then bemoaning the lack of good rpgs.

The fact that decent pc genre releases are "reduced to 1 every other year" has a lot more to do with development costs associated with over the top graphics and huge teams than it does with a lack of market for the product.

That and the overwhelming greed that requires that a title sell X billion copies before it's considered a success.

If this is even anywhere near accurate what it tells us is that PC gaming may not come close to the sales of console gaming, and it may be declining in sales, but it's nowhere near dead. Nobody is going to suddenly stop a business that is bringing in over $900 million a year.

This is just US data also, PC are stronger and consoles weaker I think in Europe and AU. Also, counting the digital sales in 05, thats 1.3 billion in sales. Unit sales went ip on 06, and we can saefly assume so did digital. I know access became far more easier in 06 from 05 in digital purchases. So we can assume at least 1.4 billion safely total sales. The trend is going up.

This is bad for me. I am yearning for the death of AAA PC gaming, as that will usher in my age of good games again I predict.

Originally Posted by roqua
This is bad for me. I am yearning for the death of AAA PC gaming, as that will usher in my age of good games again I predict.

AAA PC gaming is already pretty much dead. Basically, the PC nowadays is World of Warcraft and minesweeper/sudoku/bejeweled. Isn't that the problem?

Almost a 50&#37; drop in sales is very large, especially when you consider that the US economy was very strong for most of the years between 1998 and 2007. I can believe that there are a lot of missing numbers from MMORPG fees, but I don't think that there's much being missed in the digital download neighborhood (e.g. Steam and Direct2Drive)

Originally Posted by doctor_kaz
AAA PC gaming is already pretty much dead. Basically, the PC nowadays is World of Warcraft and minesweeper/sudoku/bejeweled. Isn't that the problem?

Almost a 50&#37; drop in sales is very large, especially when you consider that the US economy was very strong for most of the years between 1998 and 2007. I can believe that there are a lot of missing numbers from MMORPG fees, but I don't think that there's much being missed in the digital download neighborhood (e.g. Steam and Direct2Drive)

The trend is going back up. Will it be back at 1.9 like in 99 soon? Who knows, we'll see. In think TXa is a stats guy. I sucked and barely passed stats in college, but I do think there isn't enough data for anyone to predict, but the indication is that it will continue to go up.

And as to mmo's on consoles. You need a keyboard, interface mods and the modding community is on pc. If anything I see mmo's on the console as a stepping stone to console mmo players moving to the pc.

Again, I pray for the end of mainstream pc gaming, because my pc gaming hayday ended years ago and misery loves company (and I'm banking on indies increasing dramatically with the death of the mainstream), so I want to be with you, I just don't see it.

edit to add on about the keyboard: if you have a keyboard you need something to place it on. Sitting on the couch with a mouse and keyboard just doesn't seem like it will cut it. So you are at a desk with a mouse and keyboard, you don't have the interface enhancements of the pc players, all you do is play the game, the expansion comming out only has better graohcis on the pc, why not just take the small leap and play on the much better for platform for mmo's, the pc.

I can see wow coming out with a console version, but I don't see any series players playing on the console for long I guess is my point. The difference between sit-up and lay back games that that article someone has to remember explained years ago.

You don't need a keyboard for an MMORPG, if you have voice chat and the game is simplified enough. People also used to say that first person shooters wouldn't work on a console. Well, they work, and they are also very popular (they suck compared to mouse and keyboard, but by golly, they work).

Originally Posted by roqua
Again, I pray for the end of mainstream pc gaming, because my pc gaming hayday ended years ago and misery loves company (and I'm banking on indies increasing dramatically with the death of the mainstream), so I want to be with you, I just don't see it..

Do you really think that it will be a good thing if the PC is dominated by amateurs and developers with only three people? That's what it was like in the 1980's.

You don't need a keyboard for an MMORPG, if you have voice chat and the game is simplified enough. People also used to say that first person shooters wouldn't work on a console. Well, they work, and they are also very popular (they suck compared to mouse and keyboard, but by golly, they work).

Thats the thing, if its simplified enough. Wow sucks in the casual gamer and makes them not so casual. The hot console fps's aren't dumbed down pc fps's. They are the same. Mmorpgs for the console will need, and I stress need, a keyboard just for all the buttons you need. An auto target thing and circle control things isn't the answer. You can't play wow without a keyboard. You can, but your functionality goes to useless. There are keyboards for consoles. But playing an fps and playing a mmorpg are two different things.

Do you really think that it will be a good thing if the PC is dominated by amateurs and developers with only three people? That's what it was like in the 1980's

Well, I don't see the people that are making the good games as the amateurs, and to answer your question, yes. A very strong and solid yes. I would dance with joy and be able to love again. And laugh. I would do a lot of laughing.

If you check out that list, there were some amazing CRPGs made from the 80's into the mid 90's. I know that the graphics and sound just weren't there… but for me personally it has always been about gameplay, story, imagination (mine and the game creator's), and fun.

I guess it can be different for different people. And it also matters whether you lived through it or not. I got to play all those games when they were new so I have great memories. But I don't live with "nostalgia" glasses on, because I still pull those games off the shelf and play them. And I enjoy them just as much now as I did then. So I would also like it if it went back to the way it was in the 80's and 90's. Then you had people making games because they loved them… they wanted to see if they could create something cool that all their geeky brethren would like. Now you have people going to college specifically to learn programming, hoping to make money and a big name for themselves. They too want to create something cool… but they are led by the knights of marketing who dictate what they can and can't create.

I'm all for indie developers who want to bring back the glory of PC gaming for hardcore gamers. But (and now I'm going to contradict myself…) I also like the big titles… it really boils down to fun. If I have fun playing it, that's all that matters… because that's really all it's about.

Out of that list I consider 14 of them to be incredible games (my personal opinion - the ones marked with stars)… most that I still play to this day. Can anyone think of a recent year where there were 14 or more great CRPGs for the PC? They truly were the good old days.

everything doesnt necessarily come down to the latest sales figures. Lots of people are still playing pc games, just not necessarily the newest ones. Check Battlenet or any of it's equivelents out there, theyre loaded with people, some still playing games from the 90's. Gaming forums are loaded with people talking about their games of choice, game sites are all over the place. Many people play older titles for years, as many people here on this board do. If something new comes out of interest, we'll buy it. I have such a major backlog of older titles, and every time I turn around there's a new one in the bargain bin! Will I ever catch up?

PC gaming isnt dead or dying, it's just not creating huge fireworks at the moment. I wouldnt stress about it.

— I dont dislike people - I just like them better when theyre not around